Getting a 6-string

[qub]

Hi TB !
I currently own a 4 and a 5-string. I find myself playing the 4string less and less although it's a lot newer and more expensive one and since my 5-string isn't very good I'm looking to buy a new bass. 6-string this time.

I'm looking to spend about $1500-$2000 (if it's a real good deal then perhaps I'll think about 2200-ish, too). I've done some research, but the 6-string market seems to be quite different from 4/5.
(If you feel like this price range is not enough for a good 6string then feel free to recommend a nicer 5string instead)

I'd like the bass to have a good construction - I want to be able to play it for a long time and I'm willing to upgrade the electronics after a year or two if they are not premium.

The MTD Kingston series Z 6string has cought my eye so far and not much else really
Any advice?

 

[bwv1013]

my only advice so far is if your budget is 1500-2000, i would get something that already sounds good to you. maybe it's just me, but if i drop 2k on a bass the last thing i want to do is upgrade anything on it. either way you'll have plenty of options so have fun shopping.

 

[Sigurd]

I picked up a Brownsville on Ebay for $200, added an OBP-3 and set the thing up. Never been happier. Nice punch and a decent bite up high. Probably mostly due to the electronics; the rest sucks. But my ears and hands can't tell the difference.

 

[FunkMetalBass]

Music style? What basses do you already own? There is a ton of background information that we need to be able to determine what you might like.

 

[fullrangebass]

Afterburner I 6str. It's one great bass. You can find it used (not very frequently though) at the 2K mark

 

[LaklandBass]

You can get a used Modulus Q6 on ebay for that range.

 

[Ed Goode]

There are several nice looking 6's in the TB For Sale section right now .... Warrior, Stambaugh, Pulcinella, Pedulla and likely others ...

Road tested by TB players ....

 

[emjazz]

If this is your first six string than you may want to spend less until you know it's right for you. There are plenty of lower priced sixes these days that are great basses.

 

[SteveC]

If this is your first six string than you may want to spend less until you know it's right for you. There are plenty of lower priced sixes these days that are great basses.

I played an ESP LTD D-6 the other day and it's a hell of a bass - especially for under $500. Neck-thru, 3 band EQ, fairly narrow spacing which I like, thin neck, not too heavy, etc. Worth a look...especially for a "first" 6'er.

 

[iamlowsound]

If you can stretch to the $2200 mark, keep your eye out for an Fbass. They can be had in that price range.

lowsound

 

[J. Crawford]

If you can stretch to the $2200 mark, keep your eye out for an Fbass. They can be had in that price range.

lowsound

Yep.

They can be had for $2000 though.

 

[Rich L]

Afterburner I 6str. It's one great bass. You can find it used (not very frequently though) at the 2K mark

+1

 

[ehque]

Wowzah. That's quite a big budget.

The Ibanez Prestige (SR or BTB) line is nice for the money, which will not reach $2000 even with upgrades. Heard good things about MTD as well.

Probably could even get a Zon at that price, if you find one used.

 

[~ignited~wings~]

Actually, the only current prestige ibanez 6 is well over 2000, but if you're talking older models or on the used market, then sure.

 

[billy ayers]

save the extra $1500 for a snowbunny ski vacation and get a brice thru-neck, $500. ravishingly decent puppies and electronics, wide but not cartoonishly so, built like any number of lower-end boutique-babys on the market. i just can't abide that unintentionally retro 1/16" of plastique they put on the body, so i steel-wooled it off to a flat smooth burnish, which reflects my pre-xmas electric fireplace glow quite nicely.